Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 48
Zion Exalted
A song. A psalm of the sons of Korah.
1 The Lord is great and highly praised
in the city of our God.(A)
His holy mountain, 2 rising splendidly,
is the joy of the whole earth.
Mount Zion—the summit of Zaphon—
is the city of the great King.(B)
3 God is known as a stronghold
in its citadels.(C)
4 Look! The kings assembled;
they advanced together.(D)
5 They looked and froze with fear;
they fled in terror.(E)
6 Trembling seized them there,
agony like that of a woman in labor,(F)
7 as you wrecked the ships of Tarshish
with the east wind.(G)
8 Just as we heard, so we have seen
in the city of the Lord of Armies,
in the city of our God;
God will establish it forever.(H)Selah
24 Since Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go to seek omens as on previous occasions, but turned[a] toward the wilderness. 2 When Balaam looked up and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God(A) came on him, 3 and he proclaimed his poem:
The oracle of Balaam son of Beor,
the oracle of the man whose eyes are opened,
4 the oracle of one who hears the sayings of God,
who sees a vision from the Almighty,(B)
who falls into a trance with his eyes uncovered:
5 How beautiful are your tents, Jacob,
your dwellings, Israel.
6 They stretch out like river valleys,[b]
like gardens beside a stream,
like aloes the Lord has planted,
like cedars beside the water.
7 Water will flow from his buckets,
and his seed will be by abundant water.
His king will be greater than Agag,(C)
and his kingdom will be exalted.
8 God brought him out of Egypt;
he is like[c] the horns of a wild ox for them.(D)
He will feed on enemy nations
and gnaw their bones;
he will strike them with his arrows.
9 He crouches, he lies down like a lion
or a lioness—who dares to rouse him?(E)
Those who bless you will be blessed,
and those who curse you will be cursed.(F)
10 Then Balak became furious with Balaam, struck his hands together, and said to him, “I summoned you to put a curse on my enemies, but instead, you have blessed them these three times. 11 Now go to your home! I said I would reward you richly,(G) but look, the Lord has denied you a reward.”
12 Balaam answered Balak, “Didn’t I previously tell the messengers you sent me: 13 If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go against the Lord’s command, to do anything good or bad of my own will? I will say whatever the Lord says.(H) 14 Now I am going back to my people, but first, let me warn you what these people will do to your people in the future.”
Gabriel Predicts Jesus’s Birth
26 In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel(A) was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,(B) 27 to a virgin engaged[a](C) to a man named Joseph, of the house of David.(D) The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And the angel came to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you.”[b] 29 But she was deeply troubled(E) by this statement, wondering what kind of greeting this could be. 30 Then the angel told her, “Do not be afraid, Mary,(F) for you have found favor with God.(G) 31 Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.(H) 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High,(I) and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.(J) 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob(K) forever, and his kingdom will have no end.” (L)
34 Mary asked the angel, “How can this be, since I have not had sexual relations with a man?” [c]
35 The angel replied to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you,(M) and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.(N) 36 And consider your relative Elizabeth—even she has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called childless. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”(O)
38 “See, I am the Lord’s servant,” said Mary. “May it happen to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.
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